Exposing the role that Islamic jihad theology and ideology play in the modern global conflicts

UK: Pizza Express reveals that all its chicken is halal

Once again we see choices restricted in the name of “multiculturalism.” This is not a multiplicity of anything; it is catering to one culture at the expense of anyone who might object to eating halal chicken. The option of offering halal chicken only in certain dishes, rather than in every one, was apparently not an option — and so once again the principle is reinforced that wherever Islamic law and practice conflict with non-Muslim practice, the latter must give way.

“Pizza Express reveals halal meat used in all chicken dishes,” by Padraic Flanagan, Telegraph, May 7, 2014 (thanks to John):

Pizza Express is serving ritually-slaughtered halal chicken in every dish on its menu that uses the meat, it has emerged.

But customers are only told that the chicken they are eating is killed in line with strict Islamic law if they ask staff, as it is not stated on menus.

Under Islamic law, chicken can only be eaten if the bird’s throat has been slit while it is still alive. A Koranic verse is also recited during the ritual.

Some non-Muslims object to halal because they claim the method of slaughter can cause unnecessary suffering.

The firm, which has 434 restaurants across the UK, states on its website: “All our chicken is halal approved but it is important to note that all birds are stunned before being slaughtered.

“Our chicken supplier is accredited by the British Retail Consortium. This means it meets the global standard for food safety and legality.”

Popular meals such as Pollo Ad Astra pizza, Pollo Pesto and the salads Chicken Caesar and Pollo Pancetta are all made with halal chicken.

A spokesman said: “At PizzaExpress the quality and integrity of our ingredients remain our number one priority, and we have always been happy to provide information on our ingredients to our guests.

“It is no secret that all the chicken used in our dishes is halal slaughtered. Our teams in restaurants have and always will provide this information, and in addition it is available on the customer service section of our website.

“We’re committed to high animal welfare standards and as such the birds are stunned before slaughter.

“The quality, safety and integrity of our products is paramount and our chicken supplier is accredited by the British Retail Consortium. This means it meets the global standard for food safety. None of our other meats are halal.”

The revelation has provoked anger among campaigners. Stephen Evans, of the National Secular Society, told The Sun: “Unsuspecting members of the public are routinely being duped into buying meat from religious slaughter methods.

“Meat should be properly labelled, enabling consumers to make an informed choice about the food they’re buying.”

The halal meat market in the UK is worth around £2.6billion a year and it is expected to grow dramatically, with Britain’s Muslim population of 2.7 million predicted to double by 2030, according to the Pew Research Centre.

Meat inspector Richard North said chains such as Pizza Express served halal chicken to save money.

He added: “Keeping halal and non-halal meat is expensive and creates the risk of non-halal being fed to Muslims, which shops and restaurants know will cause uproar. Maybe they think non-Muslims are less likely to complain.”

Last week it was revealed that Subway has removed ham and bacon from almost 200 fast food outlets and switched to halal meat alternatives in an attempt to please its Muslim customers.

Turkey “ham” and turkey rashers will be used instead in 185 of its stores, where all the meat will now be prepared according to halal rules.

The chain, which has around 1,500 outlets across the UK, explained its decision by saying it had to balance animal welfare concerns with “the views of religious communities”.

Traditional halal slaughter has animals having their throats slit before bleeding to death.

In Arabic the word halal means “permitted” or “lawful” and covers anything that is allowed or lawful according to the Koran.

It is often used to indicate food – particularly meat – that has been prepared in accordance with Muslim principles and techniques.

In Britain, killing an animal without prior stunning is illegal but the law gives special exemption to Muslim and Jewish meat producers on religious grounds….

Send Pizza Express an email (or, even better, snail mail) telling them you are no longer going to be visiting them, and why.

But make one last visit with a group of friends. Wear crucifixes that are clearly visible. Order chicken pizza’s, and when they arrives ask to be reassured that the meat is NOT halal. If they say that it is, then make a great fuss about being served filthy food forbidden by your religion, wave the crucifixes you are wearing, and storm out without paying.

Fight against the demonic spread of Islam. Worldwide boycott on every Pizza Express. All ‘halal’ meat has been cursed by the satanic verses mouthed to demon Allah. Christians should make sure they say grace before they eat anything in case it has been cursed by intonations to the devil who possesses Muslims.

For the Christians: The issue should be made unambiguous by leaders in the Christian community. Is halal food – produced in the name of the god of Islam – forbidden to Christians? This needs an answer from the Popes of the various Catholic and Orthodox denominations, and the leadership councils of other denominations. The Bible gives clear direction to abstain from food sacrificed to idols … which seems to be consistent with halal. The economic impact to vendors of having halal declared forbidden to Christians would certainly change the game.

For the community at large: Insist on a proper description of halal slaughter. Only a Muslim can perform the slaughter – you can’t just have a non-Muslim do the job and have a cleric say the prayer. Thus the halal system forces discrimination in employment. Non-Muslims are replaced by Muslims when halal replaces other options. In the wording used by Muslims, that makes halal a “racist” system that discriminates against non-Muslims, and this should be made an issue – that halal is inherently “racist.”

“The issue should be made unambiguous by leaders in the Christian community. Is halal food – produced in the name of the god of Islam – forbidden to Christians? This needs an answer from the Popes of the various Catholic and Orthodox denominations, and the leadership councils of other denominations. The Bible gives clear direction to abstain from food sacrificed to idols …”

“Is halal food – produced in the name of the god of Islam – forbidden to Christians?”

I am not a leader of the Christain community (or even a member), but that answer to that one seems to be pretty unambiguous.

1 Corinthians 10:28
“But if any man say unto you, this is offered in sacrifice unto idols, eat not for his sake that shewed it, and for conscience sake: for the earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof:”

“Pizza Express reveal ALL the chicken they use is halal – but they don’t tell customers unless they ask staff.
“All chicken used in chain’s food is prepared according to Islamic traditions.
“No mention of issue on menu and only appears in small print on website.
“Critics have accused the 434-restaurant chain of ‘duping’ its customers.
“Or is move because ‘non-Islamic customers are less likely to complain’?
“Firm insists birds are stunned before slaughter and food meets standards.
“WARNING: Graphic Content.”

“Yet anyone who criticises the phenomenon of default halal risks being branded an Islamophobe. Yesterday’s Guardian was scathing of critics of Pizza Express’s crafty feeding of halal chicken to all its patrons. This was a simple case of food outlets making their products more ‘acceptable’ in a ‘changing Britain’, it said. This is a newspaper whose columnists bore on about where their food comes from. Yet as soon as someone says, ‘You know what, I think I’ll pass on that chicken that had its throat cut while it was still conscious’, the Guardian accuses them of being Muslim-haters. Imagine if every Strada in Britain secretly started smothering its dishes in cheese from a settlement in the West Bank? Bien pensant types would be amassing Molotov cocktails.
“The argument now seems to be that if you don’t want to eat halal meat then you’re Islamophobic. In short, not being a Muslim is now an act of Islamophobia. Strewth.”

It sure sounds like the UK is slowly losing the battle. Here in the US, let’s let Subway know that halal is unacceptable by signing a petition to let them know. Go to Florida Family Association at: http://floridafamily.org/

OT — Canada offers us a ray of hope:0
“Canada’s Ministry of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness has banned a Muslim charity that officials believe has funneled more than C$15 million (US $13.7 million) to Hamas.
“Lawyers for the International Relief Fund for Afflicted and Needy (IRFAN-Canada) slammed the decision, which now makes it a criminal offence “to knowingly deal in the property or finances of this entity.”
More detail at:http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/canada-bans-hamas-fundraisers/2014/05/08/

In the Book of Acts, at the first council, the disciples put a requirement on those who were being added to the Church–they must abstain from food that was offered to idols. This is obviously the case when food is killed after being offered the their muslim god. Christians must take a stand here against committing sin against the Christian God.

From the article – ‘Stephen Evans, of the National Secular Society, told The Sun: “Unsuspecting members of the public are routinely being duped into buying meat from religious slaughter methods.

“Meat should be properly labelled, enabling consumers to make an informed choice about the food they’re buying.”’

Barnabas Fund has been campaigning on the same front and has been making the same argument – that anything halal should be clearly labelled, so as to permit consumer choice – for years. They have *also* argued that wherever halal is offered, NON-HALAL should also be offered, i.e. halal should NOT be the ‘default’ or the ‘norm’.

Besides the fact that if all non-pork meat become halal, Muslims end up *controlling* the entire non-pork meat trade, virtually from field to table, there is a further point, not made in this article, but which Patrick Sookhdeo of Barnabas Fund, and others, have pointed out elsewhere: *halal “certification” – whether of meat or of anything else – COSTS. Muslims make a pretty penny charging “certification fees” to any and all businesses that want to be declared “halal”..and “certification” isn’t a one-off, it has to be regularly renewed. It’s a total racket; an unnecessary addition to the total ‘cost of production’ of any item, which is of course passed on to the consumer. And what do Muslim “certifiers” do with all the money they get paid for inspecting and “certifying”? – well, most of it goes into their pockets, but it *also* gets funnelled into da’wa…and it can end up going to pay for..JIHAD.

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